Anche, il mio capo è molto carino e bello! Lui è molto bello e divertente e spiritoso! Quest’estate sara divertente. Io amo il mio lavoro!

Mi dispiace che non ho postato molto, ma sono stanca da scuola e lavoro. Postero di piu sul mio lavoro! Ciao!

Scarpe “oxford” per il mio lavoro

Orzo Salad

Simple, Easy, and Delicious.

A total hit in the Constantine household!

Here is what you’ll need:

1 bag orzo

5 mini sweet peppers {we are addicted}

8 asparagus spears

1 handful kalamata olives

2 handfuls of feta cheese crumbles

1 tbsp. mayo

1/3 cup Ken’s Greek Dressing

Follow directions on orzo; cook until done. Drain and set aside in large bowl.

Blanche asparagus. After complete submersion in ice bath, chop into bite size pieces. Add to orzo bowl.

Slice and dice and mince the sweet peppers. Add to orzo bowl.

Dice up kalamata olives until they’re the size you find perfect for your salad {I like mine tiny, teeny tiny}

Toss in your feta.

In a separate bowl whisk together 1tbsp mayo with 1/3 cup Ken’s Greek Dressing

(Note: Ken’s Greek Dressing is not in any sort an endorsement. It’s just a popular one in our house!)

Pour dressing over orzo/veggie bowl & mix.

THEN:

ENJOY!

Here At My Table, this is a popular salad. Easy, breezy and cool.

Eat Well,

Paige

Note that the correct use of “may” and “might” is important in these answers. If the verb is a subjunctive the author wants you to translate it as “may”, but if it is an optative then you are to translate it as “might”.

Also, remember that the tense of a subjunctive or an optative (as well as an infinitive) does not indicate the actual time (e.g. the past) but only the aspect. The present tense shows progressive or repeated aspect (e.g. “that you may be educating”), while the aorist tense shows simple aspect (e.g. “that you may educate”), and the perfect tense shows completed aspect (e.g. “to have educated”).

Answers to ‘Drill’ Questions

Section I

1. We have sent. Perfect indicative. Singular form is πέπομφα.
2. They had sent. Pluperfect indicative. Singular form is ἐπεπόμφει(ν).
3. You were sending. Imperfect indicative. Plural form is ἐπέμπετε.
4. He has sent. Perfect indicative. Plural form is πεπόμφασι(ν).
5. I sent. Aorist indicative. Plural form is ἐπέμψαμεν.
6. He had sent. Pluperfect indicative. Plural form is ἐπεπέμφεσαν.
7. To have sent. Perfect infinitive.
8. He will send. Future indicative. Plural form is πέμψουσι(ν).
9. He may be sending. Present subjunctive. Plural form is πέμπωσι(ν).
10. You may send. Aorist subjunctive. Plural form is πέμψητε.
11. You will send. Future indicative. Plural form is πέμψετε.
12. We may be sending. Present subjunctive. Singular form is πέμπω.
13. They will send. Future indicative. Singular form is πέμψει.
14. They may be sending. Present subjunctive. Singular form is πεμπῃ.
15. (a) I shall send. Future indicative. Plural form is πέμψομεν; and (b) I may send. Aorist subjunctive. Plural form is πέμψωμεν.
16. I might be sending. Present optative. Plural form is πέμποιμεν.
17. He might send. Aorist optative. Plural form is πέμψειαν.
18. (a) To send. Aorist infinitive; and (b) He might send. Aorist optative. Plural form is πέμψαιεν.
19. They might be sending. Present optative. Singular form is πέμποι.
20. To be sending. Present infinitive.
21. I had sent. Pluperfect indicative. Plural form is ἐπεπόμφεμεν.

Section II

1. You send gold in order that we may be sending books. [present subjunctive active]
2. You send gold in order that we may send books. [aorist subjunctive active]
3. You will send gold in order that we may send books. [aorist subjunctive active]
4. You sent gold in order that we might send books. [aorist optative active]
5. You have released the brothers in order that he may send gifts. [aorist subjunctive active]
6. You had released the brothers in order that he might send gifts. [aorist optative active]
7. You were releasing the brothers in order that he might send gifts. [aorist optative active]
8. He was educating the brothers in order that you might send gold. [aorist optative active]
9. He educated the brothers in order that you might send gold. [aorist optative active]
10. In order that you may be sending gold, he educates the brothers. [present subjunctive active]
11. We will not send gold in order that he may not send animals. [aorist subjunctive active]
12. We were not sending gold in order that they might not be sending animals. [present optative active]

Answers to ‘Exercise’ Questions

Section I

1. The people on the roads will sacrifice to the gods in order that they may stop the war.
2. The people are sacrificing to the goddesses in order that they may stop the war.
3. The strangers from the marketplace sent messengers in order that they might destroy the peace.
4. I was sending messengers around the island in order that you [plural] might not be destroying the peace.
5. They have sent gifts in order that we may free Homer.
6. In fact [or "of course"], you [plural] are commanding Homer to write a book about the war in order that you may teach the brothers well. For they will guard the country.
7. He sent gold to the assembly and the council in order that they might not dissolve the friendship.
8. On the one hand, the gods did not guard Homer’s eyes; on the other hand, they have guarded well the books concerning the virtue of the men.
9. On the one hand, by a word they had destroyed the peace; on the other hand, by a deed, they had not.
10. Will you write five books concerning the sacrifices to the gods in order that we may send gifts to the gods?
11. Through the will of the gods we had stopped the war, but we did not send crowns to the marketplace.
12. Since we guarded the messengers, who were from the strangers, they did not destroy the democracy.
13. Has Homer educated the brothers with the skill concerning words in order that they may guard well virtue in battles?
14. Through virtue we had sent crowns, prizes of victory, to the friends.
15. Since we did not sacrifice to the god before the war, now, even in the island and in the marketplace, we have sacrificed in order that we may send virtue into souls.
16. The people sent even the stranger out of the country into the island in order that he might not destroy the peace. For he had written six books concerning war.
17. O Homer, on the one hand, you send a book instead of gold to the brother; on the other hand, to the god, a crown instead of an animal.
18. You were sacrificing to the gods in order that they might teach the strangers, in the island, concerning virtue.
19. He commanded the brothers to stop the war before their victory.
20. The strangers will send gifts either to the council or to the assembly in order that they may not destroy the friendship.
21. The books of Homer have taught the strangers.
22. From the marketplace.
    At the side of the brother of Homer.
    Through the house.
    Beside Homer.
    Through the island.
    To have sacrificed.
    To have stopped.

Section II

1. λελύκαμεν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἵνα μη λύσῃς τὴν εἰρηνην.
   [Note that the present subjunctive λύῃς could be used instead of the aorist subjunctive, but I think the simple aspect of the aorist makes more sense here than the repeated/progressive aspect of the present. Also note that I translated "you" as 2nd-person singular instead of 2nd-person plural (λύητε/λύσητε), though this fine too considering the question is ambiguous in this regard]
2. ἀλλὰ ἐπεπόμφης ἆθλα τῷ Ὁμέρῳ ἵνα παιδεύοι τὸν ἀδελφόν.
   [Note that the aorist optative παιδεύσαι could be used instead of the present optative, but I prefer the progressive/repeated aspect of the latter]
3. ἐγεγράφειν βιβλίον περὶ εἰρήνης ἳνα  παύσαιμεν πολέμους.
   [Note that the present optative παύσοιμεν could be used instead of the aorist optative, but I prefer the simple aspect of the latter]

Also, for each of these three answers ὡς or ὅπως can be used instead of ἵνα.

Its a public holiday on Sunday and for once the school is closed. With my day-off on Friday, it was too good an opportunity to miss so I packed my bag (small duffle – ahhh the benefits, no lugging a large bag all over a country), booked my to and return flights and left to fill in the gap! This trip will also call for a milestone because for the first time in my life, I faked a sick-day! No shit. As an employer rep, it was my pet-peeve when employees just didn’t turn up to work without notice. I just couldn’t understand the irresponsibility.  Now that I’ve done it myself, meh

So here’s how I’ve done this leg: -

I chose to fly with Atlasjet (despite the disappointment when I realized the fare I booked was not including taxes!) because they had a free shuttle bus from Izmir Airport to Selcuk and it continued to Kusadasi  if you’re interested in staying there. Great option as its relatively painless and easy way to get to Ephesus and its co-ordinated with flight times so there’s no waiting time. Obviously being on the Aegean side, there is a strong Greek influence in everything and not just building but language and food. There are a lot of historical sites etc. around Selcuk that you could do but as a traveler on a budget there are certain decisions (tough decisions!) you have to take including which places you want to see, you can see and which ones you can afford to see and which ones you will just have to let go. I decided to only go to the great Ephesus city though there are a lot of other wonderful sites in the surrounds. I spent a total 3 hours on the site but you can easily do it in 1.5 hours.

I had planned to go to Didyma the next day because my sister had insisted I must visit the Temple of Apollo but with logistics etc. I just had to let that one go. Instead the next day, I lingered over my breakfast (bread, fruit, omelet, jam, cheese and tea) and took a dolmus to a Greek village in the mountains called Sirinice. I lingered in the streets, talked to the street vendors, visited the Baptist church and ate some gomezles (pancakes) and got back in time for my bus to Pamukkale.

If you need to buy your bus tickets or need some local bus/dolmus information, I suggest Aydin Ticket office (first shop from the left at the Otogar), there’s a guy called Tony and he’s an absolute gentleman. They don’t sell tours etc. but you will definitely be able to book all your connecting bus routes with them.

Anyway, i did a Moroccan twist to these which were cooked on my kettle grill on skewers. I made these before in my oven but they don’t compare to doing it on the barbecue. The searing over hot coals make them real juicy and no matter how long you leave them over the flames, they don’t dry out whereas if you bake them, they’ll eventually dry out. Also, since they were made of a combination of lamb and beef, the fat would flare up the hot coals and if they were done in the oven, smoke would fill the kitchen. I’m not saying you can’t do them using your cooker, it can be done, but if you want to save cleaning up alot of rendered fat and not deal with alot of smoke, then barbecue is the way to go. seeing these being made on the grill and the smells makes me think how it’d be like if i was walking through a Moroccan Bazaar, watching the locals make these while the smells drift throughout the marketplaces….some day…..

Ingredients

• 500g of minced (ground) lamb and 500g of minced beef. The quantities don’t matter, as long as you have an equal amount of lamb to beef then it’s fine. You can always have more lamb to beef but that’s up to you.
• 3 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of mint sauce (if you don’t have this, you can use mint jelly or some mint leaves finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of garlic puree (if you don’t have this, use about 5-6 cloves of crushed garlic or a tablespoon of granulated garlic)
• 2 teaspoons of dry onion flakes
• 1 teaspoon of harissa paste (if you don’t have this, you can substitute with red pepper (chili) flakes or cayenne pepper)
• 2 teaspoons of paprika (can be ordinary, hot, sweet or smoked)
• 3 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons of mild chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander

1. In a deep bowl, combine the minced meats together. Once they’re thoroughly mixed, add all the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly using your hands.
2. Take a small ball of the mixture and shape it on a bamboo skewer to resemble a sausage, or you can shape them into balls and skewer them.
3. Place over hot coals, turning occasionally until they’re cooked through. Beware of flare ups due to dripping fat. If you set aside opposite hot coals, it’s best to have a drip pan under the koftas to catch the fat.

There you have it. You can adjust the quantities of any of the ingredients to suit your tastes. You can make these as big or as small as you wish. Also you may need a touch more salt. This was perfect for me but i say maybe more salt because it may seem a tad bland to some. To counteract this without resorting to high sodium content, i packed in loads of flavour so if you’re using less salt, use more of the other ingredients until it’s how you like it. You can serve them with any kind of sauce and if you’re having super spicy koftas, i recommend a riata (sauce) of natural or greek yoghurt mixed with diced cucumber and chopped mint leaves. This will tone down the spiciness and taste fantastic. Enjoy

LYRICS

There are all kinds of ethnic foods as well as typical fair foods like zeppole, funnel cakes, arepas, candy apples and grilled corn.

There are booths with Hell’s Kitchen and New York t-shirts and your standard street fair hats, sheets, spices, etc.  If you’re a single lady, there are some cute cops on the festival route, especially at 48th Street.

Some booths of note to check out are Empanada Mama, one of the festival sponsors, which has a few spread throughout the festival:

And Thai buns across the street:

I got the 3 for $5, Thai sweet sausages, pulled beef and curry chicken.  All were good.

Schmackary gave out free samples of its chocolate diablo cookie, a chocolate cookie that brings the heat.

It was really good.

Friendship has a booth giving away free samples of cottage cheese.

Poseidon Bakery, one of the festival sponsors, has a table of Greek pastries.

One only needs to glance back in history at the ancient civilisations and their pantheon of gods, ranging from Egypt’s Ra to Ishtar in Mesopotamia and the Roman emulation of Greece’s deities to realise that the glorification of a higher being and an ideal society has always been a very human concern. Christianity and Islam of course have eliminated all need for a range of supreme beings as both religions have changed man’s belief system.

One of the most enduring myths though and which has placed Cyprus firmly in its spotlight is the suggestion of the lost city and empire, of Atlantis. There are two very distinct approaches to the Atlantis debate, one of which states that it is a myth and never actually existed, while the other believes that it was part of a much older world, going even further back than the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, with one theory proposing that Cyprus itself is the geographical remnant of Atlantis.

The man behind the theory that Cyprus is what remains of Atlantis is American Robert Sarmast and while many have disagreed and attempted to disprove his idea, his book, called “Discovery of Atlantis, The Startling Case for the Island of Cyprus” certainly does pose many interesting points that could mean that the island, which we already know has a written history dating back about nine thousand years could be the answer to an age-old theory.

To understand just how far back the whole issue of Atlantis goes, one should realise that the most famous Greek philosopher Plato (second only perhaps to his teacher Socrates), provided the sole literary source of Atlantis and it could be suggested that contrary to a strongly held belief, popular among new age thinkers that Atlantis is some far-flung Utopia, the story is an ancient one, having been committed in writing by the great Plato in two parts – Timaeus and Critias – of an unfinished trilogy. In the dialogue style which is characteristic of the ancient Greek philosophers, Plato wrote “Then listen, Socrates, to a tale which, though strange, is certainly true,” and so began to relate the tale of Atlantis which has been perplexing mankind ever since.

According to Plato, the ancient gods had divided the earth between them, giving the island of Atlantis to Poseidon, the god of the sea; he was adamant also that it was understood that these gods were not the same fickle and somewhat debauched gods usually associated with the Acropolis. Instead the gods in Plato’s writings were wise and virtuous and did not at any time fight or disagree amongst each other, neither did they ever covet or try and take what did not belong to them. He writes, “They retained a certain greatness of mind and treated one another with wisdom and forbearance. They bore the burden of their wealth and possessions lightly and did not let their high standard of living intoxicate them or make them lose their self control.”

Plato goes on to say that the gods descended from their holy place and began to take a direct involvement in the lives of the humans who were already living in the region, taking care of the primitive people in a caring and nurturing way. Inevitably, the gods started to mix with the people, which led to the creation of a native race of Atlanteans and even though the first few generations inherited and upheld the inherent good qualities of their superior ancestors and the strength of the empire was determined by their innate wisdom and superior bodies and minds, the inhabitants of this lost world lost their genetic superiority through the frequent interbreeding with the native mortals.

They then apparently sank to the primitive nature of their human side and degenerated into aggressive, ambitious and hateful people who fought amongst each other for physical, earthly rewards and possessions. As their resident god, Zeus decided that punishment was needed and Atlantis was destroyed by an earthquake and devastating flood. “And the god of gods, Zeus, who reigns by law and whose eye can see such things, when he perceived the wretched state of this admirable stock decided to punish them and reduce them to order by discipline.”

In this way, Atlantis and all its evidence of agriculture, architecture, industry, the arts and religion was lost to the world forever. If you are of the belief that Plato’s story is an act of fiction then you would think that this is exactly where the story ends.

If however, you think that there is more to this than the writings of an ancient Greek philosopher and that sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction, then you should be interested to know that theories have abounded for many years that Atlantis was a real place, with suggestions for its location involving The Azores, the Americas, including parts of the Caribbean and Bolivia, and even Antarctica.

Perhaps the most plausible though and the one based on fifty matching criteria, is the one brought forward by Robert Sarmast who tells us that Cyprus can be the only plausible location for the remains of what was once an ancient epic land and civilisation. Sarmast poses the theory that geographically and geologically, Cyprus ticks all the boxes. Using computer simulation technology, the water of the Mediterranean was drained and river water flow was taken into account, all of which led to a modelled version of a vast land area, of which Cyprus’ Troodos Mountains are literally right at the top, as the ‘towering peaks’ described by Plato. Sarmast explains that “our modelling of Atlantis Island corresponds not only to clues extracted from Plato, but to well-known illustrations of Atlantis. A simple visual comparison between the best-known drawings of Atlantis from Plato’s description and our sonar-based recreation of antediluvian (pre-flood) Cyprus offers an eerie similarity.”

Naturally Sarmast offers more clues and evidence that Cyprus could be the tip of the lost huge island of Atlantis and its proof of a vast and advanced civilisation and if read with an open mind, perhaps his book and further writings could persuade even the greatest cynic. Next time you are enjoying a majestic view of the Mediterranean, let your mind wander to what and who could be buried deep beneath its constantly shifting seafloor.

Weight for me tomorrow. Paul

Paul Lambis is the author of “Where is Home?” – A journey of hilarious contrasts.
For more information on Paul Lambis, and to order his book online,
visit http://www.paul-lambis.com

80-ply dough baklava (which is usually 40-ply), speciality of Beypazarı district of Ankara,Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plenty of people are getting their Greek on this weekend.

Shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the Capital Region Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Wormleysburg this morning, customers were lining up for gryos, baklava and lamb dinners.

It’s a little known secret – you can arrive early at the festival at 1000 Yverdon Drive to beat the rush.

“It’s a beautiful day. It’s perfect for this,” said Donna Angeloff of Willamstown.

Read more:  http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/05/greek_festival_wormleysburg_1.html#incart_m-rpt-1

The NA28 Greek New Testament is now available for purchase in Accordance Bible Software. The text itself is free here. The Accordance version includes the apparatus, marginalia, and other nice enhancements. Here’s a screencast that shows how you can use the NA28 in Accordance:

More about the Nestle-Aland edition is here. Its Accordance product page is here, with an Accordance blog post about it here.

Every year since 1977 International Museum Day is organised worldwide around May 18. So pick up some kind of culture today! Shiva wants you smart…

Dimitris Violitzis and Elias Garanis aka Krama

Treasury time! So retro, so classic, so Mad Men! This collection of Etsy finds is full of inspiration for your home bar. Make your next house party memorable with our vintage Hellenic lowball bar serving set!

‘Stock the Bar’ by antoniaewald

Vintage Bright Gold Round Se… KuriosaEurope $18	mid century ruby red 1950… beguilingvinta… $38	Vintage Cocktail Shaker Stai… ilivevintage $26	Hellenic Greek Lowball Tumbl… OneRustyNail $31.95
Vintage Low Ball Textured Gl… whateverislove… $18	Ice Bucket, Wexford by Ancho… FalconandFinch $30	Vintage Japanese Painted Too… MiscellanyAven… $8	Imperial Old Williamsburg Wa… TheRealmCollec… $79.99
Gold and Silver Ice Bucket. … RhapsodyAttic $58	Viking Georgian Pink 9oz Fla… TheRealmCollec… $64.99	Vintage Mid Century Bohemian… WINDSEEDstudio $35	Vintage Brass Nautical Ancho… JulesCollectib… $11
RARE Ethereal 1940s Antique … carillioncllct… $64.99	Cocktail forks Undergroundast… $11	60s Gold Rim Mid Century Gla… ThatchVintage $20	NAVY BLUE Stripe Straws-25 B… SofiesBigDay $4

El Greco, The Agonyin the Garden

I once read a book that said that worship was the most important form of prayer. This may be right, but I am not always certain that worship is prayer. Not etymologically, and certainly not in the biblical record. When St Paul exhorts people to pray, it seems often to focus on bringing petitions before God.

According to a little booklet I got of 30 days of prayer with Andrew Murray (purchased at Hull’s Family Bookstore, Thunder Bay, Ontario), intercession is the most important form of prayer.

I do not wish to say which of the forms of prayer — things like the Jesus Prayer or intercession or worship or confession of sins — is most important out of those that have been offered up as candidates. However, I think intercession should be at the heart of our prayer activity as we commune with God in our quiet place.

I hold this belief for several reasons. One is the etymological fallacy, that the English word ‘to pray’ originally means ‘to make a request’ — and the request is not always from God.

This is not, however, simply the etymology of English, but also the meaning of the Greek used in our Bibles. Luke 22:40, Christ tells the Disciples on the Mt of Olives to pray that they not fall into temptation, using the verb proseuchomai,* and then goes off to pray to the Father — once again, proseuchomai and that which he offers to God is a proseuche.** This Greek word, proseuchomai, means to make a request or offer a petition; its related noun means a request, a petition, or a vow, often one made to a god.

I believe that getting to the root of the words we see in any text is an important aspect of study. What does the Bible mean by prayer? What is its root? What is its cultural context? etc, etc.

Some famous Bible verses about prayer that use this Greek word (NIV):

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. -Acts 2:42

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. -Philippians 4:6

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. -Colossians 4:2

pray without ceasing -1 Thessalonians 5:17

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. ⁷ And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.⁸ Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. -1 Timothy 2:1-8

Of course, a petition need not be intercessory. The standard form of the Jesus Prayer is a petition, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ But it is not an intercession.

Intercession, as an English word, is a particular form of petition. It is a petition made on behalf of someone else. The intercessor stands in the breach between a person or situation and the gracious God, pleading that Our Lord will have mercy and bring his love and mercy to bear on a particular situation.

So here I come to my final two reasons why I think intercession is at the heart of prayer. Not only is it biblical, it is also unselfish. It is an act of utter charity. Intercessions are not prayers about me — my cold, my loud flatmates, my financial situation, my research and so forth. Intercessions are prayers that are focussed on others.

As Christians, we are called to be servants of all. We are called to give up ourselves for others. We are called to live not for ourselves. We are called to live in complete charity.

Finally, intercession brings us before God in a bold way that some may think lacks humility. Who am I to ask anything for anyone else before God? God is God. He is the most powerful, majestic, awesome, beautiful being in the universe. He sustains all things by his hand and brought them into existence by a mere word.

This is why we must intercede before God for others. We need to learn that our God is not like the gods of the ‘pagans’. He is not distant. He is not so far beyond us that we cannot approach his throne ourselves. We do not need any mediator besides Christ (who is himself God!). He does not require long, complicated rituals for us to access him. He does not delegat the task of hearing petitions and intercessions to his minions.

God, Himself, wants to hear from us. He wants us to join him in his task of redemption, and this includes interceding for those around us.

We should do it in humility, but in love not quaking fear.

*For Hellonphiles or over-clever people, I always cite words by their lexicographical lemma so that my readers can find them in a dictionary. What would be the use of giving an infinitive when it is the first principal part that is needed?

**If I could do macrons, I would.

I did this piece as for a homework assignment based on ancient Greek pottery. I chose to depict the scene from Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ where Odysseus bludgeons out the eye of the Cyclops (it was kinda corny-sad in the made for TV film, right?). Photobashing via Photoshop, pen tool, vector masks, and some “inspiration” from fantasy artwork and even “Shadow of the Colossus” were utilized. I quite enjoy it as a fun throw-together piece.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was tranquil and tasteful. Good place for families too. Though I didn’t partake in adult beverages, they had a decent selection.

My meal total was $10 and well worth it.

Kafe Neo gets 5 out of 5 stars!

For more info, visit http://www.kafeneo.net

We take the same picture every year at the St. Demetrios Greek Festival, and it looks like this. An urban-idyllic glow, soft sepia hues, a crowd of festival-goers suspended in time, raising forks to mouths, the festival’s frenzy of activity and din of conversation quieted by the medium of photography.

The odd thing is that the photo we snap each year – even at the very moment it is being shot – is simultaneously the defining image of my memory of the event.  If it is possible to take a contemporaneous, in-the-moment photograph of a memory, this picture is evidence of that phenomenon.

This picture is also my defining image of Astoria. Two weeks after my own personal ‘discovery’ of the neighborhood (each person has their own narrative of a place), we glimpsed the formidable spokes and metal carriages of a Ferris Wheel, erected in bizarre proximity to the facade of a cathedral. Now how does one not investigate that?

What we found when we arrived was a clamorous riot of people, spilling out of the festival’s tent onto the sidewalks, shifting foot to foot on long lines for carnival rides and a bountiful buffet of Greek food, and shouting over the sheer roar of it all to be heard by family and friends. It was the smell of the souvlaki on the grill and the gyro spinning on its spit that drew us into that fray, which we might have otherwise eschewed. And we were rewarded with one of the best, biggest and most affordable meals I have ever had, with the opportunity to eat it out-of-doors, and with the neighborhood enveloping us.

Some related musings on what to order: Get the gyro with everything.  And the honey-soaked, cinnamon-dusted Loukoumades, or Greek donuts – the “small order” holds over 15 of these beautiful sweets for a mere $4.  Also the flaky Tyropita, a large but delicate filo puff stuffed with feta.  The Souvlaki, too, this year provided raw and cut for grilling from the festival’s neighbors, the Souvlaki King of Astoria.  Maybe if you have room, the raft of Galaktoboureko, overflowing with sweet custard. This year they have even added a beer tent, affixed to a beer truck, pouring Coors Light, Sam Adams, Brooklyn Lager and Blue Moon.

The St. Demetrios Greek Festival is something to see for yourself, and I encourage all Astorians to go. Because who knows, perhaps within the chaos of it, you’ll sense some of those things that make our neighborhood interesting and good. The mix of young people and elders, the celebration of culture, traditions, food, and a sense of fun and civic pride. Maybe you will take a picture of it and right at that second burn into your memory the enduring beauty of it all.

And on the topic of temporality, below is a Loukoumades photo essay bonus:

Church and School volunteers making Loukoumades

The hot, fresh Loukoumades at the St. Demetrios Greek Festival in Astoria

The End

Visit the festival this weekend, Saturday & Sunday, 1-11 pm, and 31st Avenue and 30th Drive

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness (about 1/2 inch)
Juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp fresh, chopped oregano
4 hamburger (or similar) buns
Lettuce
1 small onion, sliced
1 tsp fresh, chopped parsley
4 tsp crumbled feta cheese

Place the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano in a small bowl. Whisk until the ingredients are well-incorporated.

Place chicken and the lemon juice mixture in a plastic zip-lock bag. Seal bag and move around so that the ingredients are combined. Refrigerate for about 1/2 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the grill.

Grill the marinated chicken on one side for about 9 minutes, then about 4 minutes on the other.

Remove chicken from grill. Slice each breast in half crosswise, so that you end up with 4 even pieces. Assemble the sandwiches with the buns (I like to butter them and toast a bit on the grill), lettuce, chicken, parsley, onions and a teaspoon each of the feta. Serve.

Serves 4.